(Dont quote me on this) - To access your credit file, a credit provider or an authorized agent must obtain your approval, before querying the Veda database. In my case, I was looking for a credit repairer and every one of them placed an inquiry on my file, which severely affected my credit score / number of inquiries.
I called everyone again and forced them to put in an amendment to remove the inquiry, which they did and that in turn made my file look OK.